Question

• Discussion Topic: What are the three major causes of brain damage in childhood?
• Discussion Topic: Why would you use distraction versus traction?

Case Study:

Adam is a 6-year-old boy who dove head first in the shallow end of a swimming pool. Unable to move, he sank to the bottom of the pool and was rescued by his mother. His father called the emergency medical services (EMS) while the mother provided mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The EMS arrived and continued the resuscitation and placed him in a cervical collar. Adam was placed on a backboard and began to breathe on his own while en route to a trauma center. The neurologic assessment revealed paralysis of the upper and lower extremities, and cervical spine x-ray images and a magnetic resonance image (MRI) confirmed a C6-C7 complete transection injury. The patient was intubated before going into surgery for decompression of the injury.

1. Into what types of shock could the patient go? What symptoms did the patient exhibit?

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Answer 1

Three major causes of brain damage in childhood are,(1) traumatic brain injury (2) hypoxic brain injury (3) acquired brain injury.

Traction and distraction are two opposite meaning words. Traction implies any movement that pulls you towards a particular point, while distraction is something that pulls us away from a particular point. This traction distraction is widely used in dislocation of the various joints like shoulder joint.

The patient with cervical cord injury can undergo spinal shock or neurogenic shock.

It is characterized by loss of movement, loss or altered sensation including the ability to feel heat, cold and touch. Loss of bowel or bladder control, exaggerated reflex activities or spasm,difficulty in breathing and coughing.